“It’s not as bad as that,” Theo said, brushing off her remark without looking at his arm – he could feel it well enough, a persistent warmth in one particular area above his elbow, like he’d been hit by a stinging hex. Hers was – almost sickening to look at, the skin almost bubbling, and with her dress there who knew how far it went.
He glanced sidelong at the other refugees in the shop, hoping someone looked remotely useful and finding no likely candidates. (One old man on the other side of the cabinets had his head in his hands, slumped on the floor, moaning a little; beside him, a woman and a child, whom she was doing her best to quiet... No one in healer robes or even in Ministry robes, obviously, because what would they have been doing out here?)
This situation was already shit enough, but trying to wrack his brain back to the many hours spent in field medicine training when he’d been on the way to being an Auror had to be a better use of time, Theo decided, than milling around doing his best to ignore everyone or worry about people who weren’t here.
“Can we – try and stop the fabric touching it?” Theo asked – instructed – certain that the first step was getting the tatters of her dress as clear of the burn as possible, before it could begin to be treated. It was easily enough said, but he didn’t know how to actually go about it, by tearing out sections of her dress or helping her get out of it, or if he so much as dared touch her leg without her permission. He glanced up at her and the woman with her, as if to ask, or to see if they had any better ideas.
And, whether he intended to distract her from the horror of it by changing the subject or just meant to assuage his own worries, Theo added: “What were you out doing – was it just you, or did you get split up from someone? Your husband?”
He glanced sidelong at the other refugees in the shop, hoping someone looked remotely useful and finding no likely candidates. (One old man on the other side of the cabinets had his head in his hands, slumped on the floor, moaning a little; beside him, a woman and a child, whom she was doing her best to quiet... No one in healer robes or even in Ministry robes, obviously, because what would they have been doing out here?)
This situation was already shit enough, but trying to wrack his brain back to the many hours spent in field medicine training when he’d been on the way to being an Auror had to be a better use of time, Theo decided, than milling around doing his best to ignore everyone or worry about people who weren’t here.
“Can we – try and stop the fabric touching it?” Theo asked – instructed – certain that the first step was getting the tatters of her dress as clear of the burn as possible, before it could begin to be treated. It was easily enough said, but he didn’t know how to actually go about it, by tearing out sections of her dress or helping her get out of it, or if he so much as dared touch her leg without her permission. He glanced up at her and the woman with her, as if to ask, or to see if they had any better ideas.
And, whether he intended to distract her from the horror of it by changing the subject or just meant to assuage his own worries, Theo added: “What were you out doing – was it just you, or did you get split up from someone? Your husband?”
